“What’s the point of having social media if it’s not converting and turning into sales?”
As a marketing agency, we’ve been asked this question many times. And we get it. As a business, you want to see tangible results for why and how you’re spending time, energy, and money. Ads show conversion rates and ROIs, and websites show you traffic and activity, but without any money behind ads, social media content is harder to gather tangible results and see the benefits.
But what if we told you that there are immense benefits to having a consistent social media presence beyond the tangible results and analytics?
With social media being one of the most cost-efficient digital marketing tools out there, you have the power to increase your brand awareness, gain life-long customers, and indirectly establish leads. It would be a waste not to utilize social media for your business.
But, if you don’t have the funds to put hundreds of dollars into targeted ads, can social media still benefit your business?
Yes, it can! Let’s discuss how.
Increased Brand Awareness
Let’s face it. Social media is here to stay. It’s a powerhouse that over half of the world’s population is using. Experts believe that in five years, there will be 4.4 billion people on social media. That’s a vast category of untapped potential for your business if you aren’t utilizing social media.
People spend so much time on social media. According to a study by Pew Research Center, 49% of people studied admitted to checking their social media accounts multiple times per day. Those are a lot of eyes that could be seeing and engaging with your content.
Think of it like this: If you had a brick-and-mortar business, but the location did not have any signage, it was behind other businesses and not visible at all and had no way of saying “here we are!” would many people come into your store?
The answer is likely no.
That’s because the public has no visibility and no awareness of the existence of your business.
It’s the same concept if your business has no social media presence. In today’s day and age, most people look at a business’s website and social media before even giving that business a chance. If they don’t have active social media profiles and a solid website, they automatically feel distrust towards that business.
People want to see what kind of business you are, and the best way to do that is through active and engaging social media content. Putting engaging content out there will go a long way in increasing your brand awareness and building your reputation as a business. With each shared post, each comment, and each opportunity to engage with your audience, more people will become aware of your business and potentially become a lead.
Over 91% of marketers have claimed their social media marketing efforts increased their exposure, even if they only spent a few hours per week dedicated to social media content and engagement.
Having a social media presence can go a long way in increasing brand awareness. Combine that with regular use and engagement, and it will generate a wider audience for your brand.
Improved Search Rankings
Most businesses recognize that search engine optimization is important to achieving higher page rankings and getting more traffic to your website. While social media doesn’t directly impact your SEO as paid advertising does, a study by the Social Media Examiner found that more than 58% of businesses who have been active on social media for one year or longer have seen improved search engine rankings.
Creating high-quality content that directly integrates your targeted keywords, such as blog sharing, infographics, case studies, business information, company culture, and media sharing, will make your business’s social media profile more intriguing and credible and improve your overall SEO ranking.
Creates Meaningful Conversations Around Your Brand
Previously, businesses had minimal ways to connect with their current and potential customers. Unless customers physically went to the business, it was challenging to have meaningful conversations around your brand. Thankfully, social media has changed the game (in a good way!) and allows businesses to interact directly with customers and give them a chance to interact directly with your brand. But, if you want customers to stay engaged with your brand consistently, your brand also needs to consistently stay active and engage with them.
Remember: Social media engagement and conversations are a two-way street!
Helps Provide Responsive Customer Service
67% of consumers expect brands and companies to have social media presence to provide customer service. If you’re not using social media as a method for customer service and customer support, you’ve already fallen way behind many other businesses that have taken advantage of the powerful communication options on social media.
But you don’t have to stay behind.
People expect brands to be available and responsive on social media. More times than not, social media is where people will seek help from businesses, not their website or via email/phone/snail mail, etc. And it’s not that people only expect support through social media; they expect it efficiently and quickly. In fact, about half of social media users expect a response from businesses on social media within three hours.
So it would bode well for your business to have a strategy in place to utilize social media for customer service and support.
It’s Cost-Effective
Businesses are all about getting the most out of their budgets, no matter how big or small. Creating social media profiles and posting on them is completely free – unlike most traditional media marketing options that require up-front payment. Being so cost-effective offers a considerable advantage to businesses because the money they would have put into expensive advertising can be utilized in other avenues to help grow their business.
Establishes You As A Thought Leader
No matter what industry or niche your business is part of, you want to be seen as the expert in that area. Social media offers a space to show up as a knowledgeable thought leader and opens pathways that allow you to connect and engage with your followers.
Posting insightful and informative content on your social media is a great way to showcase your knowledge and create genuine value for your followers. Being able to directly connect, communicate, share content, and promote your authority will allow you to become a notable influencer in your field. Your followers will continue to look to you for insights and inspiration.
Generates Leads Both Directly & Indirectly
We’ve talked a lot about how social media can be used to gain customer loyalty and trust, encourage genuine conversations, and increase brand awareness. But there is another benefit that will cause many businesses’ ears to perk up:
Social media can drive leads, both directly and indirectly.
Now, of course, one of the best ways to accomplish this is through paid, targeted advertising. But, we’re here to talk about the many ways social media benefits your business without having to put a lot of $$$ into it.
Thankfully, most social media platforms have evolved over the years and added many powerful options for driving leads. For example, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and even TikTok now allow displaying call-to-actions (CTAs) for business accounts on profiles, landing pages, message buttons, and more.
While it is more challenging to see how those CTAs impact your sales funnel directly, you can rest easy knowing they make a more significant impact than you initially thought.
So, there you have it—seven powerful benefits for your business that come from simply being active on social media. If you feel like that answered all of your questions, go off and start improving your social media presence.
But, if you are looking for more information and assistance, look no further than our team of social media marketing experts. We’re here to help increase your social media presence and help your business grow to new heights!